TUNIS, Tunisia — Tunisia’s ruling party, Nidaa Tunis, froze the membership of Prime Minister Youssef Chahed on Sept. 14. The decision came after Chahed refused to answer a questionnaire by Nidaa Tunis clarifying the nature of his relationship with the party.
A week earlier, on Sept. 8, eight parliamentarians from Nidaa Tunis' bloc of 56 parliament members submitted their resignations from the bloc. Parliament member Mohammed al-Rashdi, one of the eight, told the Tunis-Afrique Presse news agency that they will join the National Coalition, a new bloc initially composed of 33 parliament members supporting the government of Youssef Chahed.